Max Verstappen marched through the field to begin the Belgian Grand Prix to take the race win and a commanding lead in the 2022 Formula 1 standings.
Starting in 14th due to power unit replacement penalties, Verstappen easily dispatched of much of the F1 field for his ninth win of the season and 29th of his career.
It was also his second straight victory at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, after last year’s fiasco that consisted of two laps behind the safety car in a monsoon.
“It was a hectic first lap, to stay out of trouble,” Verstappen told Martin Brundle in F1 media’s podium interviews after the race. “So many things were happening in front of me. But once we settled in after the safety car, the car was really on rails. Picked the right places to pass people and we could look after our tires, that’s how we made our way forward. Then once we were in the lead, it was all about managing everything.”
Sergio Perez made it a Red Bull one-two lockout in second. What at one point seemed to be a season during which Ferrari would finally retake its throne after over a decade groveling has turned instead into a Red Bull track meet, as the bulls now have 10 wins to the horse’s four.
Carlos Sainz, who started on pole in his Ferrari, could only watch the two Red Bulls get by with their superior race pace but was able to salvage a podium in third. George Russell made a valiant charge in the closing laps to catch up with Sainz but could only manage fourth.
Alpine took a massive step forward in the battle for fourth in the constructors’ standings, with Fernando Alonso in fifth and Esteban Ocon in seventh as neither McLaren finished in the points.
There were two incidents in the race, both occurring in the first two laps. On lap one, Lewis Hamilton squeezed into Alonso on the inside of turn 5 for second position, causing the Mercedes to take major damage and go airborne with the rear up. Hamilton tried to get back to the pit lane but only got back to turn 16 at the longest track on the F1 calendar.
Alonso, despite his eventual good finish, was not pleased with the driver he has raced with hundreds of times and who came into the series as his teammate in the legendary championship battle of 2007.
“What an idiot!” Alonso exclaimed on the team radio. “Closing the door from the outside. I mean, we have a mega start but [Hamilton] only knows how to drive and start in first.”
The next lap, Valtteri Bottas and Nicholas Latifi spun out in turn…
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